When I began on this image, I already knew the story for it. It would be about the beautiful daughter of a noble and how she fled her father and ran into the woods to make him realise how much he loved her, and missed her... but that she wanted to make sure she would find her way home again.
She remembered, then, old fairytales and how two children had once found their way home by following a trail of breadcrumbs. But instead of crumbs, she spread bright, almost glowing, petals in her path. Unfortunately, not only could she find her way home... but someone else could find her. The story is something in between a classic fairytale inspired by the story about "Hans and Greta" and a creepy kind of horror story. I wanted the picture to show both elements.
Her clothes are inspired by the classic Snow White outfit, and the forest itself was painted to look like one of those old, moss-covered woods that makes you feel young and insignificant the moment you hide beneath the branches. The leaves and the trees have very intricate textures that I painted partly by hand in Photoshop and partly used the wonderful watercolour brushes in Painter to create. The process was painstakingly slow and was repeated (though in different patterns, of course) for the trunks of the trees and the texture of the stones.

Together with the patterns on her skirts and her wispy hair, I wanted these textures to create a feeling of an old oil painting rather than something created on the computer. I left no strong highlights in and worked in muted tones to achieve an almost washed-out appearance to the whole thing. There are also several texture overlays that I first painted in Painter and then brought into Photoshop.
This is one of the stories, and one of the paintings, I've made specifically for the book on dark fairytales I hope to finish, and publish, one of these days.

I remember, not too long ago - sitting on the balcony as the rain began to fall. It was nighttime and at first there were only a few splatters of water like a whisper. Then the rain came in heavy sheets and the puddles on the ground spat water upwards with every drop. Having watched that, I headed inside and painted my Melody of your Demise (found on my website ). My inspiration varies.
It can be everything from rain, to a song I'm listening to, to other artists that I really admire, to the way the light falls on a chair or a movie with exceptional visuals. Some books leave me inspired for days and I love when that happens. Once, I was inspired by a South Park episode though you certainly couldn't tell by the painting.
John Bauer, Brian Froud and Tim Burton are my three main inspirations as far as 'art' goes. Watching pictures by either of the two first, or a movie or picture by the third always make me itch with the urge to paint. But there are also a lot of contemporary artists - and good friends - that inspire me in what I do. Too many to mention here.